Colourblind
by bonboni
Summary: Sawyer's next target: Kate Austen. But what happens when the con goes wrong and he falls in love with her? Skate.
1. Chapter 1

_Title: Colourblind_

_Rating: T_

_Disclaimer: I don't own LOST or any of its characters or settings, I'm just simply making this up as I go along…_

_Summary: Sawyer's next target: Kate Austen. But what happens when the con goes wrong and he falls in love with her? Skate. _

_A/N: Well, this idea came to me ages ago and I published it before but I didn't like the way it was going (it was both skate and jate before) and so I re-wrote the whole story. (oh and the italics in this chapter means shouting) Hope you like it and when you are done with this chapter, please leave a review? Thanks._

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Chapter 1 

Kate rushed down the creaky stairs, tears clouding her vision and goose bumps up and down her body. All emotions rushed through her body all at once after the shock of his words.

'You have to believe me. Please, Freckl-'

'I am no Freckles to you. I'm Kate.'

'Kate, I lov-'

_'Shut up! Stop lying! You tried to con me that's all, so shut up and leave me alone!'_ Kate screamed as she ran out of the door. Sawyer was faster, however and caught her in one swift motion and tried to walk her back to the house.

_'Get off me, you jerk!_' she yelled.

'Shhhhh. It's okay, Freckles. Calm down.'

'Get off me! I thought you loved me, but I was wrong! So let me go... Please.' she sobbed. She collapsed completely, shaken from the horror and shock of news that Sawyer informed her of.

'Kate, you have to understand. It's my job. It's how I earn money. I did a mistake by trying to con you and I'm sorry, I told you that I love you, what else do you want me to do to show you how I feel?' Sawyer asked affectionately.

'Let me go.' she whispered.

'No, just listen to me, please. I have to tell you how I feel first and then, if you still don't believe me, then I'll let you go.' Sawyer said, firmly and Kate nodded.

'I'm a con man, there is no doubt about that. And I'm a bad person... no doubt about that either. I have done so many countless mistakes in my life, that I have even forgotten some of them, and one of the biggest ones is this. I am sorry, no wait- I am really, very sorry that I chose the wrong person to con. Because I have done such a stupid mistake and fallen in love with you- No, look at me, Kate!' he ordered her as he lifted her head up when she gave out a bitter laugh and looked away. 'I love you. There are no words to describe how I feel about y-'

'Do you ever stop lying?' she asked softly, in one tone.

'I didn't before now.'

'Stop trying to be so lovey-dovey with me. I don't want to hear any more of your pathetic excuses. Just, let me go.' she said firmly.

He looked deep inside her emerald eyes to see her feelings. No expression came out of her voice, or eyes apart from anger and hurt. He sighed heavily and took his hand away from her arm.

_It's best this way._

He thought. She would be able to do whatever she wants, now. He let go of her. Kate looked at him. It was a simple look of disgust, nothing less, nothing more. She took her two bags, which included her possessions and turned away from him as she walked steadily towards the door. There, she stopped and carefully turned around.

'Just before I go... what's your name, your real name?' she asked. Sawyer sighed again.

'Sawyer.'

'No, I asked for you real name.'

'And I told you; it's Sawyer.' he added.

'You know what. Just forget it. We're done.' she said calmly and walked out of the house.

'James.' he whispered, but she had already gone.


	2. Chapter 2

_I know that it has been a long time since I last updated but I have been abondoning this fanfic for quite some time and was stuck on ideas. I've thought of one... it's not very good but it will do for now. Anyway, it's back now and I hope that all my reviewers will keep reading:) Thank you for R&Ring everyone! _

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Chapter 2 

Why… why did he always have to mess things up?! He clenched his fists and punched the wall in front of him hard enough to feel the pain rushing through his fingers and blood dripping from his knuckles.

The last time that he got something right, the last time that he had finished a con was… he couldn't even remember when it was, it seemed like such a long time ago. Or maybe it was just because Kate had taken over his life and made him forget about everything else before that. With her it was different, with her he was… happy. He knew that he shouldn't be and that he should only be doing his job and getting it over and done with then moving on, but something stopped him. The first time he saw her he knew it would be hard but he didn't know that it would be this hard to let go.

He remembered when he first introduced himself. He remembered how she fell for him from the moment she saw him.

_Flashback_

"_Woah!" He staggered backwards._

"_Oh God, I'm so sorry! I don't know what's going on with me today." The brunette in front of him apologised. Truth was, it wasn't her fault at all. In fact he made it seem like it was her fault to get her to talk to him. _

"_No need to apologise." He chuckled and gave that smile that all his ladies fell for. He could already see that it was working when she smiled and looked straight into his eyes. "You sure you okay? You seem a little dizzy." He added._

"_Yeah… yeah, I'm fine." She answered almost too uncertainly._

"_Erm… so…" Sawyer said shrugging and pointing to the menu._

"_Oh… yes, sorry! Er… yes, what would you like?" Success. She couldn't take her eyes off him._

"_Gin." He nodded his head over to where the gin was and she turned to get him some._

_After he was done, he paid the bill and got up._

"_See ya, Freckles." He drawled and walked towards the exit of the bar casually. Kate stood there for a moment and touched her face softly. Smiling, she watched him as he left the room…_

"_Austen." A voice shouted behind her. "_Austen_!" It ringed across the room. Kate jumped and paced over to her boss' office._

_End of Flashback_


	3. Chapter 3

_Ahem... What to say... thank you for even clicking on this! I am so ashamed and embarrassed at how late I have updated this, you have no idea. I am really truly sorry and I can't promise that updates from now on will be more frequent but hopefully I'll be able to update more nowadays since as now my writer's block for this fanfiction has finally disappeared! Some things that have happened today got me this idea for this chapter and how Sawyer and Kate will meet again. I hope that you like it and please- I am begging you- review! _

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Chapter 3 

It had been quite some time since Sawyer had last seen Kate but nevertheless he couldn't stop thinking about her. He couldn't help but feel guilty at what he had done and how he had hurt her. He still remembered that day when they broke up like it was only yesterday. He still remembered the good times that they had together. He still remembered the first time they met each other… he smiled at all those moments lightly, treasuring them all and keeping them safe in his memory.

It had become a routine for him to come over to the same pub every night: to have a drink or two, to think things through and then go back home. He thought that since as he didn't have anything better to do during the evenings, he might as well do that.

He stood up and handed over the money to the bartender. Taking his keys out of his pocket, he circled them once around his finger and walked out of the building, towards his van.

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It had been quite some time since Kate had last seen Sawyer but nevertheless she couldn't stop thinking about him. She couldn't stop thinking about the good times that they had together. Now, looking back at it, she realised that it was the best time of her life. A time when she could be who she wanted to be, a time when she could just be herself. And most importantly, a time when no one would stop her from doing anything she wanted. She grimaced as the thoughts of her childhood flooded back to her. 

A lot had happened since Kate had last seen Sawyer- some good things and some bad things. The good things were quite simple, really… what she had gained was mostly the fact that now she could look at the world with a different pair of eyes- in other words she had finally learnt how to deal with different situations and the fact that life is not a bowl of cherries. The bad thing- she was too scared to admit how much she missed Sawyer.

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Kate was driving her car to nowhere in particular. She just needed to get away to have some time to think things over. She felt that even in her small and isolated apartment she couldn't think properly- it was too restricting. And then that's when it happened. All too quickly. Before she knew it, Kate's attention was on her handbag and getting it open to get her phone out and answer it. One hand was on the driving wheel and the other was across on the other seat. Her eyes were on the handbag and not the road. She glanced at the white van coming towards her from her right and a long beep from the other car's horn. Before she could realise what was happening, she fiercly put her foot on the pedal and screamed as the two cars collided.

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_ Any guesses as to who the people in the two vehicles are? I think it's quite obvious. :P_


	4. Chapter 4

_Thank you all for your reviews:) I'm really glad that you're still reading even though I didn't update that much sooner. I have good news though: updates will be much more close together now because I've done the next 3 chapters of this fanfic so I'll be able to update more. However, I'm going away on Monday and not coming back till Friday so I won't be able to update next week but hopefully I'll update again when I get back. :) Enjoy this chapter: it's what happens right after the two cars crashed. :D _

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Chapter 4 

Cursing under his breath and punching and hitting the wheel, Sawyer stormed out of his car and looked at the dent in his car. He cursed once again and kicked the tyre as hard as possible, breathing hard. Great, this is just what he needed right now.

He walked around his van and marched to the other side- that driver will be sorry.

"What the hell were you thinking?!" He growled and looked down to the driver who was now coming out of their car. His expression immediately softened as he recognised the person trying to make their way out of the car. He couldn't believe it.

"Kate?!" he said, almost too surprised.

"Ouch, ouch!" Were the quiet yet firm whispers coming out of her mouth as she carefully made her way out of the car. She looked up, an apologetic expression was set on her face- almost guilty- until she saw him and her eyebrows creased.

"You?!" she screamed. _Great. Perfect_. Sawyer thought. It would've been nice if she at least called him by his name- or what she thought was his name since as she didn't know his real name, but no… she just called him "you". He could feel an argument coming up.

"What was I thinking?… What were you thinking, driving without looking?! Are you blind, couldn't you see that there's a car coming towards you?! Not to mention that it was my right of way…" she rambled on and on, not even stopping for a breath.

"Okay, okay, just stop!" He yelled and she stared at him, getting even more angry by the second.

"Don't you tell me what to do! You think that you can just waltz in here and boss me around after you crashed into-"

"Oh, I crashed into you, did I? Oh, let's see just what happened. Who was it that was driving while talking on the phone? Who was it that swerved the whole car completely on the wrong side of the lane?!" His voice matched up to hers, his gestures strong. A few people had gotten out of their cars, to see what the big argument was about but Sawyer and Kate didn't stop fighting.

"Don't you use that sarcasm with me," she yelled, pointing her finger accusingly at him and shaking her head in disgust, "don't you even dare accuse me of swerving my car- I am a perfectly good driver, thank you very much- and don't you dare accuse me of talking on my phone- ouch!" She said as she ran her hand over the side of her head where she felt a bump coming up. She cursed softly and Sawyer immediately moved closer to her.

"You alright?" He said, almost panicking. She nodded.

"I don't need your help." She said and backed away from him. Hurt showed up on Sawyer's face, and Kate managed to catch it but didn't say anything. He was a con artist after all, it's easy for him to lure women with his charm.

Of course, Sawyer wished that Kate didn't see it that way. He was a human being, after all. He deserved some respect too. It pained him to see her like this, so angry at him just because he didn't have the courage or time to explain to her exactly what happened. He sighed. She looked so beautiful… so… indescribable.

"Er… so… I guess we should swap details," he said but quickly carried on when he got a dirty look from Kate, "I-I mean for the insurance companies, ya know." He explained himself and Kate's glare softened.

"Yeah… I guess we'll have to." She said sighing and turning around. Sawyer didn't see her groan and roll her eyes at him but suspected it anyway.

Taking out a piece of paper, they swapped details- Sawyer quite hurriedly, Kate hesitating a few times. She wondered whether it'd be best if she wrote down the wrong information… then he couldn't get to her that way. But then she realised that it wasn't a good idea since as he'll have to give this info to his insurance company. She bit her lip and reluctantly wrote down her name, address and telephone number along with the registration of her car.

She caught him looking interestingly at her details and stared at him, hands on her hips. Sawyer, however, couldn't resist himself.

"Just wanted to make sure you were writing down the right details, Freckles." She looked up at the nickname- the nickname she missed so much, the nickname she loved. She tried to hide the sadness behind her eyes but for someone like Sawyer, it was easy to notice.

"You don't have to pretend anymore, Kate. I know you missed me, just like I missed you too." He whispered, smiling softly. For a moment, Kate lost herself in his eyes. God, it was so difficult to let go. It was so difficult to forget him but she knew that she had to; he was a liar and a jerk. She kept telling herself but somehow, that sentence just didn't match up to what her heart told her to do.

Kate cleared her throat and smoothed her hands on her trousers.

"We should probably go," she said and Sawyer's smile dropped. "My car's not too bad and I think that I can still drive it. I'm sure you can drive yours too." She said and walked off, nodding once as a goodbye before she turned around leaving Sawyer and his piece of paper standing motionless in the dark night.


	5. Chapter 5

_Hi again! I'm back from my holiday (which I thoroughly enjoyed!) and I've got a new chapter for you! Here's the next installment to Colourblind, hope you like it! Thanks for **ParisAmy**, **xKatie-Bearx** and **Lyly Ford** for reviewing!_

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Chapter 5 

Sawyer stared at the piece of paper in front of him. He had kept it safe for the past two weeks; like it was his most treasured possession… which it probably was at the moment.

How much he just wanted to call her, it was impossible to describe. But of course it wasn't that easy. He needed a reason to see her; he needed a good reason to make up just so he could see her. Unfortunately, all the ideas that came up in his mind were either too impossible or rubbish. He'd been sitting at the same place for the past 3 hours trying to think of what to say to her.

Why had it suddenly become so difficult to talk to her? Why couldn't he think of anything to say to her? Why was it that every little word he put in a sentence didn't seem right? He sighed and took another swig of the vodka which was resting on the side of the couch.

Rubbing his head, he tried desperately to think of something. He mentally kicked himself when he couldn't think of anything.

Maybe writing it all down would help. He reached across the table and grabbed the notepad in front of him. It was a more difficult task than he expected. Minutes after he opened the notepad, he just stared blankly at it not knowing what to write. Millions of questions formed flew around in his head: should he call her Freckles or Kate? Freckles… it sounded more casual… but no! He didn't want to be casual, this had to sound formal. He'd call her Kate instead. Seconds after he decided on that, another question formed in his head. Why would he need to see her? There had to be a good reason.

The car. It had to be about the car, he nodded. His car was fine of course, all repaired and everything sorted out but he decided that it'll be about the car. So… all he knew so far was that he'd call her Kate and talk about his car. Great, he was sounding like some idiot even though he wasn't meaning to.

An hour later, he still hadn't decided anything. Yelling, he got up and kicked the side of the couch and breathed heavily. What now? There was only one choice left. Call her and see what happens; make it all up on the spot.

_Here goes nothing. _

He thought but took his phone out of his pocket, nevertheless. Looking carefully at the number in front of him, he punched the number in his phone and put it to his ear.

Sitting down almost too carefully, he waited not knowing what to expect.

"Hello?" A familiar voice answered. "Hello, is anyone there?"

"Er.. Hi… Kate." He said slowly, his heart beating fast.

Pause.

"What do you want?" Her voice sounded rough.

"Look, there's been a problem with my car and… they want you to come in tomorrow." He said but immediately cursed to himself inside. He couldn't believe that's the best he could think of. There was no way she'd agree to that.

"Okay." She blurted out, too suddenly. "I-I mean… yes, I'll come in." Sawyer gaped and it took him a few minutes to recover.

"Good- that's er… good." He nodded and let out a breath. "So, tomorrow at Salesbury Lane, in front of the car insurance place. How's 12 o'clock?" He said, now sounding more relaxed.

"Fine. I'll see you tomorrow then." She said, trying to sound as neutral as possible.

He shut the phone and sighed, leaning back to the sofa grinning. This was going to be great. However, on the other side, Kate was left motionless unable to get a reason why she'd agreed to come and most importantly whether it was all a good idea or not.

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_Just a little note for those who might think it's OOC that Kate agrees to go with Sawyer. Secretly Kate does in fact want to meet up with him and them two get back together but the other side of her is scared and doesn't know what to do, that's why she wasn't sure why she agreed to see him. :)_


	6. Chapter 6

_Hey everyone! I am very sorry for the late update, I only wrote this chapter a week ago- I hardly have inspiration to write these days- but lately I've been having trouble with uploading it as a document on the website and I only fixed it today. So... I'm sorry for the late update but I hope that you still have the desire to read this. Thank you all very much for your reviews for the last few chapters and I hope you like this chapter just as much! (Since as it's April 1st, there's a catch in the chapter somewhere, try and figure it out)_

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Chapter 6

The rhythmic sound of Kate's heels on the paving stones filled Salesbury Lane. Then they began to get faster and faster as Kate looked at her watch, realising that she was 20 minutes late.

She groaned and carried on walking- more like running- through the street. A few meters later, she made it to the car insurance store where Sawyer was leaning on the wall, looking very bored.

"Finally! What took you so long?" he asked, raising his hands up in the air in frustration.

"Whatever. Are we going in or not?" she brushed off the comment.

"Going in?" he stared blankly at her, looking totally lost.

"Yes… going in… you said there was a problem with your car, remember?" she stared at him expectantly. She was starting to wonder whether this was a good idea in the first place- if there really was a problem with Sawyer's car or he had just called her for the fun of it.

"Oh, that!" he exclaimed, almost too happily. Immediately, he started sweating, trying to think of an excuse. Not only was there not one single problem with his car, but this wasn't even his car insurance company.

Kate only looked at him more cross, her arms folded across her chest.

"Yeah… you see… the guy who told me to call you isn't in today so we can't go in." he blurted out, almost too suddenly. Kate had already realised that he hadn't called her up for his car at all, but decided to play a game.

"But surely we can go in and ask somebody else for help?" she asked sweetly, smiling lightly.

"No, the guy has the keys to my car, you see." He said, and immediately wanted to take it back- no way in a million years would a business man at a car insurance have someone else's car keys.

Kate stared hard at him, putting on the most menacing look she could think of.

"Sawyer, I saw your car on the other lane. There wasn't a single scratch on it- it seemed like you've been driving it since it got _repaired_." She said, concentrating on the word 'repaired'.

His expression softened as he sighed in frustration. _Way to go._ He said sarcastically to himself. He'd lost her again. Not to mention how stupid he'd been to forget to park his car way out of Kate's reach.

"Come here." She whispered. He looked up, confused? Kate gestured him with her hands to come towards him, her face completely blank. He looked around and walked forwards, gingerly. Again, she gestured him to walk towards her and he stepped forwards once more.

"Ow!" he shouted as she took his ear with her hand and pulled him along with it to the end of the street where his car was parked. Another stream of 'ow's came out of his mouth as Kate's grip on his ear tightened.

"Jeez woman, what is wrong-" However, he didn't have the time to finish his sentence as Kate slapped him hard on the cheek.

"Whoa… I can see that you've definitely changed, you never used to slap me before!" he shouted and Kate just glared at him.

"That's because I was so blinded by your impetuous nature."

"I'll take that as a compliment." He answered roughly, rubbing his jaw where there was now a red mark.

"Look… I don't want to keep in contact with you anymore. You lie all the time and nothing I do or say will change that. Remember what you always said to me? A tiger never changes its stripes-"

"- Well, Freckles, this tiger has changed it's stripes."

"Don't interrupt me when I'm talking." She glared to him and Sawyer felt like a boy getting told of by his parents: first she tells him off and pulls him by his ear and now this. He shook his head. "As I was saying… I just…" and then she did the most unexpected thing. A new look invaded her face. What was anger before now softened and her face crumpled and she let out a sob.

"Do you remember what this place is?"

Sawyer thought carefully and then leaned over. "Hell, yes, Freckles- it's a damn street. Is that supposed to be a trick question or summing?"

"No, Sawyer." She sighed, wiping away a tear that had made its way down her cheek. Sawyer thought for a little longer and then realised. He sighed.

"Oh… yeah, it's the place where we had our first kiss."

_Flashback_

_They were laughing and joking around, Kate having the best time of her life when her phone rang. She looked at the screen and groaned._

"_Hi… yes… yeah, I'll be there- what? When?! Hello! It's my break, if you don't mind… yeah… fine." She shut the phone and looked at him apologetically. "That was my boss. He says there's more people waiting for me." _

"_But it's your break." Sawyer argued. Sighing, Kate shook her head violently. _

"_But it's my boss." She said importantly. "If I'm not there then he'll fire me…"_

"_You know what I think?" Sawyer said, leaning on the post box. _

"_What?" Kate giggled; he made her laugh sometimes. She faced him, grinning._

"_I think… that you should ask for a pay rise." He answered back, smartly and almost too seriously, making Kate lean back and laugh. She didn't notice a cyclist trying to get past her and she felt herself falling into Sawyer's arms as the cyclist skidded past._

"_Hey, watch your step!" he yelled and carried on cycling._

_Kate looked up at Sawyer, realising that she was completely in his arms… and this was the third time they'd met. Sawyer caught her off-guard as he leaned forward and kiss her softly on the lips, leaving Kate totally stunned. A few seconds later, he grinned as if nothing had happened and lifted her off him. _

"_I guess I better go, then. Catch ya later!" she waved to him and walked off._

"_Sure thing!" Sawyer answered back and walked in the other direction. _

_Kate couldn't help but touch her lips where, a few seconds ago, Sawyer's lips had been._

End Of Flashback

"It's the place where we'll have our last kiss too." Kate answered back. Sawyer looked up at her but before he even had the chance to think, Kate reached up to him on his tiptoes and kissed him, almost too lightly, on his lips.

She looked down at her feet, thinking of what she should say next.

"I just- I can't be with you. I can't see you again." She whispered and bit her lip not completely knowing what to do next. She pulled a loose strand of hair behind her ear and turned around, walking off in the direction that she had that time of their first kiss. Sawyer stared at her, wondering whether to call her and what to say.

"Freckles!" he tried to shout but it only came out as a whisper. He realised that he was never going to get her back.

THE END


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